27th + Luxe: January 2014

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

Swim across the english channel.

Climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Write a book.

Invent the next best thing.

Design jewelry or start your own clothing line...or both.

Turn that side hustle into a business.

Be a stay at home mom or dad.

CREATE.

Use this weekend to not only recover from the hustle and bustle that is a constant, but also to spend time focusing on the things that you are passionate about, the things that bring you joy! Build beautiful masterpieces with paper, with words or with paint + canvas or a camera. Spend time with your loved ones, bake sugary desserts and talk about your aspirations, your hopes. CREATE a plan...

and then FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS.

HEALTHY LIVING: GREEN SMOOTHIE

I was reading Oak + Oats and stumbled across these posts. Beth and her husband did the whole30. I mentioned last week that Aaron and I are currently in a biggest loser contest, so I'm all about trying new things to get the healthy in and flush the unhealthy out so that I can beat him!!!...and live a healthier lifestyle too! We are currently following the whole30 program, you can learn more about it here.

*disclaimer: yes if you look back at Monday's post, I went HAM over the weekend...this is why. I "officially" started whole30 on Tuesday.*

I finally got around to making a smoothie and it turned out pretty good! I didn't follow any recipe, I just threw some things in the blender and hoped for the best. And it turned out ok, I didn't send us to the ER!!

So let's talk about what's in this blender. By the way, I didn't measure, I just tried to make sure I used more veggies than fruit.

1 tub of pre-sliced fresh pineapples

6 strawberries

Several handfuls of: red + green swiss chard, tat soi, arugala, and spinach

Looks like I accomplished my goal of making sure it was green!

This was pretty freaking delicious!! I'm making another one tonight with bananas instead of pineapples.

Do you have any smoothie recipes that you love? Please do share!

*Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter! The first one goes out tomorrow!*

Wedding Wednesday: The Honeymoon

Can you believe we still haven't decided on our honeymoon spot? We definitely want someplace nice and tropical, my vote is for beautiful St. Lucia!

We'll probably be taking our honeymoon trip later in the year and opt for a "mini-moon" right after the wedding which is pretty exciting. We'll still have a "week" aways since it will span from Thursday-Monday. I am hoping *fingers crossed* that A is in agreement for Destin, FL.

MY FIRST HOUSTON BLOGGER EVENT

This past Saturday I attended my first blogger event with the Houston Blogger Social Club. It was so much fun! I met some amazing ladies. It was great to be around people that understood blogging. I can't wait for the next event!

This was so much fun! The meetup was at Hearsay Gastro Lounge in downtown Houston. The food was delicious, the conversation was great, AAAAND who doesn't love a good mini photo shoot for outfit posts??

WEEKEND RECAP

Sigh...it's the start of another week...wonderful. Monday's suck. Period. I wanted to share a few highlights from my weekend because this is the first time in a good while that I've stepped outside of the house everyday of the weekend. I'll share more detail in another post. This weekend was filled with social outings, lot's of food because it's time to get into the routine of my healthy eating "diet" -so I had one last big hoorah. And, I took my beautiful mother out for brunch!

{image via, text added by 27th + Luxe}

The buzz phrase this year seems to be "living intentionally" or some variation of that. When I think about living an intentional life, I think about slowing down and taking the time to enjoy the little things that truly make life special.

My word of the year (as I mentioned in this post) is relationship. One of the relationships that I must be intentional about is my relationship with God.

{image via // text via 27th + Luxe}

+Amber over at And Yes To Joy talked about being stuck in doors. I can totally relate. I was at home for the winter break doing nothing but making plans. It's amazing how quiet time alone can allow you to come up with the greatest ideas. Now about this weather though -ice, freezing rain and possibly snow is supposed to be the story of Houston this morning. That's crazy! It was literally like 70 degrees on Monday!

+I want to see Ride Along + Lone Survivor. Chances are I won't be making it to the movies anytime soon...but I still want to see them.

+I love these shoes!

+Since I'm all about getting healthy + fit, I'm dreaming about these new workout clothes.

+Check out this vday DIY from Lovely Indeed!

This weekend I'm going to my first local blogger meet up! I'm nervous + excited because I break into a sweat and start hyperventilating (not really @ hyperventilating, but it sure does feel like it!!) when it comes to meeting people I don't know. This is definitely out of my comfort zone! A and I are picking out our wedding bands and going on a hot date! Oh...and I'll be doing homework...there's that too.

Have a great weekend!

*don't forget to sign up for the newsletter! the first one goes out on Jan. 31st!*

BIGGEST LOSER CONTEST

{image via, text added by 27th + Luxe}

So A and I have a contest going up until the wedding. We are both eating healthy and working out (he has a HUGE head start because he's been doing it for a while already). Whoever's body fat percentage decreases the most between now and May 1st gets the gift of our choosing (for a reasonable amount of course!).

I'm pretty excited about this because it motivates me to work out and eat healthy-I can't let him beat me!!

I've been meeting with a personal trainer since before Christmas, but then Christmas came and well you know how that goes! I've been back at it since January 13th. Have I seen any changes? Well I'll be completely honest here...not really. I've lost a few pounds but I haven't necessarily been eating out or working out as much as I could.

I thought I'd put together a little inspiration board to give me (and any lovelies out there who are committed to being healthy and fit!) some extra inspiration. Who doesn't love shopping? And I truly believe I'd be more committed to working out if I looked cute doing it!

TWO BE WED...AND MERGE THE FINANCES

So with the wedding being about a good 3 months away (HOLY SMOKES!!) A and I have started to really discuss the merging of our finances.

I mentioned in this post that one of my goals this year is to save money, but I also want to eliminate some debt. I'm sure these goals are sitting on a lot of to-do lists this year! It's so important as a couple (God doesn't like debt!) and also for all the goals we have for our family, that we whittle away at this debt until it's gone and save some money too!

I stumbled across this article on The Everygirl and they highlighted some key finance resolutions for the new year (although these are great tips to follow all the time). One of the ones I liked was:

"Go nuts cutting your unnecessary costs."

I really feel like this is a definite area where we can focus a big part of our efforts! When it comes down to it, I feel like we could definitely live a lot simpler than we do now, and focus on meeting our basic needs rather than fulfilling our wants. I just gotta convince A... :)

Another blog I like to read is And Then We Saved, formerly "And Then She Saved". I love it because she went on a spending fast to get out of debt and then transitioned to a spending diet to save money and stay on track.

What are some ways that you/you + your boo have cut back and saved money? Don't be shy, sharing is caring!

TECH WISH LIST

I thought it would be fun to put together a little wish list of some tech products + accessories I'm currently lusting after.

1 // Wacom Bamboo Tablet: These tablets allow you to draw on images like this.

2 // Diana F+: I just love this because it's gold!! And also because it's a SLR that takes lo-fi photos.

3 // Macbook Pro Satchel: I just think it's super cute and may attempt to make one on my own!

4 // Bloom Theory Gold Mine Camera Strap: Anything white, gold + sparkly, count me in!

5 // 50mm f/1.8 Lens: I have two zoom lenses and really want to add some fixed lenses to my stash.

6 // iMac Desktop 27in: I love my laptop, but am really looking forward to a chic office + desktop!

What's on your tech wish list? I'd love to know, I might see something else I'd like to add to mine!

INSPIRATION SUNDAY

{via Darling Magazine, text added by 27th + Luxe}

It's the start of yet another week. When Sunday gets here, I always get sad because that means I go back to work the next day. While I am thankful that I am employed (Lord knows I am very blessed!), I am very unfulfilled. BUT! I am taking the steps to change that-I'm being very intentional about the changes I want to happen in my life this year.

And so, for this Inspiration Sunday, I wanted to encourage everyone else out there to do the same, to dream, strive + become!

If you have a burning desire to be doing something else, chances are that your purpose has not been realized in what you are currently doing. What's for you will not pass you by.

Two of my favorite things are Darling Magazine and The Everygirl. I love reading encouraging stories and finding inspiration from these two places. If you haven't visited these sites yet, you definitely should!

Have a BLESSED week!

FRIDAY LINK LOVE

+ I loved this post on Peppermint Bliss. The 1st + 2nd image are awesome. I can't wait until I can decorate a nursery/kids room-no time soon though!

+ Looking for 10 Wellness Reminders to keep your year going right? They are amazing tips, check them out!

+ Want some amazing tips about blogging? Go here!

+ Being "behind the camera shy" - I can TOTALLY relate!

+ These coats on Fashion Juice...LOVE

+ You may have seen this, but it's new to me; thinking about trying it!

+ I called her walking lady made me tear up.

+ These new designs made me ready to switch things up on the blog again! Have an awesome weekend!!

Nothing too exciting for me this weekend folks! I'll be going to TopGolf for the first time tomorrow, pretty excited about that! Other than that it's grad school, working on my dreams, and tidying up the place! Oh and juicing! I found a recipe that I'm trying :) Enjoy your weekend lovelies!

WEDDING STYLE

Another dream job of mine is to be a wedding stylist. Not just for the day of, but for all wedding related events. I have had so much fun discovering my wedding style-not what I initially thought it would be! I think it would be so much fun to help a bride discover her personal style and how to incorporate that into all the events including the big day.

As the time to our big day is winding down, I'm reminded of my pre-engagement spreadsheets (I think I was waiting to be allowed into Pinterest) and all the concepts I envisioned. What I've ended up with is actually quite different! I thought I'd share some of that style with you today, fun right?!

Can you guess which style I am? :)

FINDING + MANAGING INSPIRATION

Today I wanted to talk about finding + managing inspiration. When you've determined what your passion is, it's very key that you are able to find inspiration around you to nurture that passion! Now, that can be a difficult thing to do when your brain is going 100 mile per minute and you have a hectic schedule. So, how exactly do you find + manage inspiration?

Happy Monday! Last night, Asia from TheCracked Lens nominated me for a Liebster Award-pretty awesome right? Asia is studying photography, be sure to check out her blog!

Rules of the award: -link back to nominator -write 11 facts about yourself -answer questions from nominator -nominate 10 bloggers (less than 200 followers) and let them know! -create 10 questions for nominees

DID YOU KNOW THERE IS A NEWSLETTER?

Did you know there's a newsletter? I created the 27th + Luxe Newsletter near the end of 2013 as a way for readers to follow along and catch up on posts you may have missed during the week.

While I was working on changing up the blog and creating goals for 2014, I realized that was just silly! Duh right? I want the newsletter to be an extension of the blog, providing you with fresh content.

INTRODUCING:

How cool is that? I know that I personally don't enjoy receiving newsletters that show me what I've just seen on the blog, so why should I do that to you? The content featured in the newsletter will be fresh and inspiring!

Why should I subscribe you may ask? One of my main goals and the foundation of this blog is to create a luxe life. In the newsletter, you will find little nuggets of luxeness that just may spark some inspiration in you! Who doesn't want that?

The first newsletter will go out at the end of the month, January 31st.

INSPIRATION SUNDAY

I wanted to do something a bit different for today's Inspiration Sunday. I want to share something that I have been struggling with. This is something that I don't do, but here it goes.

Over the holiday's I had the opportunity to interview for a marketing position. I got a call that I may need to come in for a 3rd interview and after 3 weeks of waiting to hear back, I found out that it was decided that overall I was not a good fit for the needs of the position.

I'm not going to lie, I cried! I can't for the life of me figure out what I need to do differently to have the job I want. Was grad school a waste of time and an unnecessary increase to my student loan debt?And then I wonder if maybe it's just not meant to be. I have dreams of doing something else too, so maybe that's where my focus should be?

How long do you continue to try before throwing in the towel? I feel like giving up! When I spoke to my sister, she encouraged me to keep trying. Naturally, I am not a quitter, but that sure is what I feel like doing!

I wonder what the Lord is trying to teach me and I wonder what I am being prepared for. And, I'm not going to lie, right now my patience is gone.

Is anyone else out there struggling with this or something similar?

To sum this all up and provide some inspiration for the week, here are 3 Inspiration Sunday quotes:

MY THOUGHTS ON RADIANT ORCHID

So I thought I'd go ahead and jump on the bandwagon and talk about this color: Radiant Orchid. It's nice. And while I'm not OVERLY excited about it, I think it's a beautiful color when it's not overdone.

{Photo via Elle Decor}

So this one...I don't like because it looks like Radiant Orchid threw up in the room, just my opinion! I prefer the color when it's incorporated in a very subtle way or as one statement piece.

Like this jacket- it says "BAM, I'm here!" But then it comes off and she looks very sophisticated.

{Photo via Reloved Rubbish}

See-very subtle!

I love the way Radiant Orchid looks against the color on these walls!

This is just fabulous! I would ROCK this!

Subtle again- it says "Radiant Orchid, I have decided to entertain you for a bit, but that is all you get from me."

You know-this color looks really good with black.

I just love big bags! So this is already a winner in my book!

FAB

LOVE

IF I purchase anything, it'll be very subtle or one statement piece/pop of color. I think you really can't do any wrong when it's worn fashionably. As far as home decor, I think less is more-keep it simple.

What about you lovelies? Are you hopping on the Radiant Orchid bandwagon?